2016 Emerson Brown Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon

About the Wine 

Emerson Brown is a collaboration between two talented and acclaimed winemakers, Keith Emerson and Brian Brown. It all began while working at Vineyard 29 during the 2005 harvest, a vintage marked by an excessively large crop, so big that many wineries turned fruit away at the crush pad. The team did a little horse-trading with growers spawning a new partnership, Emerson Brown. They have continually collaborated on Napa Valley Wines ever since.

Keith Emerson is the Director of Winemaking at Vineyard 29, a position he's held since 2005 and has worked in more than 18 different vintages. His business partner, Brian Brown, earned a viticulture and enology degree from UC Davis in 2001. Brown has worked harvests in Napa, Sonoma, Australia before becoming the full-time enologist at Trefethen Vineyards. 

The 2016 Emerson Brown Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon comes from III Michaels Estate, now known as Rancho Pequeno, is located on the Eastern Bench of Oakville. The site has great exposure but also cool, heavy soils that help the vines retain natural acidity all the while letting the fruit fully ripen deep, dark, intense flavors.  

Aging: 60% New French Oak

Tasting Notes: Red Wine. 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Expressive, complex aromas of black currant, cassis, dried lavender, and cocoa powder.  Explosive blue and black fruits immediately entice the palate with a slow-building, persistent, fine-grain tannin profile throughout. Ripe black cherry, baking spices, culinary herbs, slow-cooked brisket, cocoa on a dusted bonbon. Incredibly integrated, concentrated, and powerful, this Cabernet will age well for decades but is incredibly exciting and drinkable upon release.

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